The Request
by Shieldmaiden Sigyn
Summary: Hermione Granger has removed herself from the wizarding world. Purposefully. A knock at the door and a very unwanted visitor threatens to bring her back to face her past. I suck at summaries. True story. Rated M for later things and stuff.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a long time since she had felt like she belonged. Even longer since she had felt loved. By another human being at least. The animals on her little slice of heaven didn't count. This slice of heaven included a small cabin on a few acres, a small patch of woods and a little pond. Chickens woke her in the morning, her dog tucked in with her at night. Her days were filled with the bucolic fantasy she had built for herself. Miles from everyone, she had made herself self sufficient. She had been alone so long she had almost forgotten her own name. Except in dreams, she always remembered it then, screamed across a battlefield blazing with spells and fire. Death coming for all of them. She could always hear the screaming of her friends, her professors, those who swore to protect.

Afterwards, she had shaken so bad for days that she thought she would fall apart at the seams. So after a short stay in St. Mungo's, she had disappeared. She had run away from the flashing lights and the fame. Away from the only people who had ever meant anything to her. She couldn't handle being one of the "Golden Trio" anymore. Her nerves couldn't take stepping out of her front door to popping flashes and shouts. She would always be transported back to that battlefield. She kept her wand, and her beaded bag. Everything else she had fashioned by hand and by magic, a fact that she was ever so proud of. A severe case of PTSD, the medi-witches said, something that could only be cured by time. So she gave herself time, and space, and quiet.

Sitting on her front porch, Hermione Granger sipped at her cup of hot tea, watching the chickens scratch at the dirt in front of the cabin, taking in the peace she found for herself. With a smile, she nudged the bum of her white haired dog who in turn groaned lazily in the summer heat. He looked back at her with reproach at her actions. She smiled back at him and leaned her head back on the porch railing, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. "Well, Mojo, come on, time to think about dinner I believe." she chuckled to herself and raised herself from the porch steps to head back inside. Mojo didn't move, however, and looked pointedly off into the woods at the edge of her property. "Come on then, lazy bones. I know you're thinking rabbit, but I'm not chasing it this time."

She turned and opened the door, heading inside, Mojo following behind closely, still eyeing the woods. "Silly pup, come on, find your bone and get settled." she grinned as the dog went to lay on her sofa. She flicked her hand at the stove and turned on the flame wandlessly, something she had been practicing for a while. Turns out, she did have a knack for wandless, wordless magic. She began to chop carrots and onions from the garden for soup, while humming a tune to herself. The manual labor soothed her, giving her some semblance of normality that wand-work couldn't. Into the pot with the ingredients, much like making potions, she mused, turning up the flame to boil.

She moved into the living room, settling onto the sofa with Mojo, readying for a nap while the soup took care of itself. As she dozed in and out of consciousness, she could have sworn she had heard the tell tale 'pop' of apparition. She started to sit up for a moment. She had been alone here for going on five years, there was no way anyone could have tracked her, she made sure that her property was unplottable. And as far as she knew, there would have been no one looking for her. She had left notes for Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. She laid her head back down on the pillows, sighing. No, she was just imagining things. She had just closed her eyes again when a knock sounded on the front door. She sat bolt upright as Mojo jumped down off the sofa and raced to the door, barking ferociously. Her wand at her side, she cautiously approached the door, ready to hex the trespasser into next month. "Who is it?" she called, her voice steady.

No one answered, but she could see a shadow being cast onto the porch by her visitor. The door handle jiggled and she pulled it open, releasing the dog onto the visitor. She heard a man yell on the other side of the door she was hiding behind. "Damn it, Granger! Don't make me hex this dog!" a voice called back.

Recognizing the voice, she rounded the door, wand raised at the intruders face. "Draco Malfoy, don't you TOUCH my dog or I will murder you where you stand!" she yelled, eyeing the blonde who had his wand leveled at her dog.

"Call him off, Granger!" he howled, backing off the porch.

"Mojo, come back here, get inside." she told the dog, who promptly returned to his station near her legs. "What are you doing here? How did you find me? Are you alone?" rapid fire questions fell from her lips, her wand still raised.

"Granger, will you please relax? I have a reason to be here, but I need you to listen to me. Please," he raised his hands in peace. "Pax, Granger?"

Hermione eyed him once more and lowered her wand. "This had better be good." she mumbled "Pax," she agreed, retreating into her cabin, motioning for him to follow.

He moved into the interior, seemingly evaluating her decor. "Nice place..." he said as she motioned him to sit in an arm chair across from the sofa. He smoothed his hair back from his forehead, it was longer than it had been, and a slight shadow of blonde scruff showed on his jaw. It was fairly obvious that he had been roughing it while searching her out.

"What do you want, Malfoy? You didn't track me down to discuss throw pillows." she sighed, irritated with being bothered. She had distinctly told Harry that she would come back when she was good and damn ready. Not a moment before. She looked down at her hands, shaking slightly with the good scare she had received. Much better than what she had been when she left the wizarding world.

"You haven't even offered me tea? You've been out here too long. Does anyone come visit?" he evaded her question, smirking a little and reminding her of the old Malfoy she had known.

"Malfoy..." she warned, Mojo standing beside her and beginning to pick up on her irritation. "You came here for a reason, and when you leave, I'm going to need a reason not to obliviate you."

"Oh, because you're such a professional at that.."he bit out, immediately regretting it as Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Granger...Hermione...I didn't mean that. I didn't." he protested as she grabbed him by the upper arm and bodily hauled him to his feet.

"Out Malfoy, get out. And don't come back." she said forcefully, shoving him through the door and closing it on him. She leaned against the door after locking it.

"Hermione, what I came here to tell you, you're going to want to know." Draco said from the other side of the door. He had leaned his forearms on the wood, regretting the past three minutes with his whole soul. Why had he taken the shot at her parents? This woman had suffered their loss already from what Potter and Weasley had told him, part of the reason she had retreated from the world in general. "Hermione, I am sorry. But I came here to tell you one thing. He wanted me to tell you first."

She remained silent but cracked the door open about an inch. Draco looked through the crack and watched her raise an eyebrow in invitation to continue. He cleared his throat and straightened his black t-shirt. "Umm...Don't know how else to do this, but here we go." he smoothed his hand through his hair again. "Severus Snape is alive and is requesting to see you. You specifically. He's been with me at the Manor for the last year. It was touch and go for a while. He was still very weak. But he's getting much better. He's been hiding, just like you. So he sent me to track you down. And...bring you back...if you were agreeable."

Hermione paled at the mention of Snape, and opened the door wider. She searched Draco's face for any sign of duplicity and upon finding none, fainted dead away.


	2. The Manor

Authors note! Well I didn't expect all the favorites and the reviews, really! Kinda blew my mind when I woke up to all the love! So this is my second chapter of The Request! As always, I don't own anything, not even my car, so I sure as shit can't own anything Harry Potter related. Keep the love coming! I get everything through on my phone while I am at work, so if you're really nice, you may get another chappy when I get home tonight!

Hazy, cloudy, comfortable and safe. Those words floated dreamily in Hermione's mind as she lay unconscious. Surely the uncomfortable 'events' of the day had been a dream and she would wake up happy and alone in her own bed, finding that her mind had devised a new way of making her suffer, dreaming up old friends. Of course, she smiled sleepily, Draco Malfoy had never really been a 'friend', as the strictest definition defined, but he had become something close in the days and weeks after the final battle. Perhaps out of self preservation, he stuck closely to the three of them, perhaps he really meant it when he said he was forced to do and say the things he had done. Remarkably, Hermione had understood the most and kept insisting to Harry and Ron that he was worthy of redemption.

Shifting slightly under her blankets and reaching a hand for Mojo's soft white side, she thought about the other part of the dream. Severus, alive, at the Manor. She swore she would never go back there after the incident. Through the haze of half dream, she heard Mojo whine and felt a soft lick on the side of her face. She groaned and rolled half away, running her face into a mass of solid flesh that didn't smell like dog. She bolted upright and half yelped.

"'Bout damn time, Granger, me and the dog thought you'd died." Malfoy chuckled, sliding off the side of the bed and reaching for a cup of tea. "Found my way through your kitchen, lucky you've labeled everything, I'm not used to doing for myself." he grinned, shoving the cup of tea towards Hermione.

"I wasn't dreaming." Hermione covered her eyes with her face and groaned. It would have been so much simpler if she had been dreaming. She sighed and took the cup from Draco's hands. "Sorry, I guess I'm not much used to shock anymore. I've been out here for-"

"Four years, six months and twenty four days." Draco finished dryly. "And you left everyone a note...but me."

Hermione knitted her eyebrows together and looked at the blonde over the steam of her tea. "I didn't figure you cared at all, Malfoy. Harry always figured you'd become close to us out of the need to stay out of Azkaban."

"You were wrong. You always were, Granger. I told you after...well...after, that I never wanted to hurt you, to say those things to you. I never wanted to be some git that you all hated. But my family made sure that I had to be." he sat at the end of the bed and leaned against the foot board. "Not that you're going to get to hear me confess my undying love for you there, Fluffy, because that's not going to happen." he grinned as she smoothed her unruly brown hair down into some semblance of order. "I'm just trying to tell you that I am a human being with feelings and empathy of my own."

"If you ever did that, I swear I'd have a hard time not tossing myself off a cliff," she jabbed at his shoulder with her foot. "You're a lovely friend, but I'm not sure what I would do with a overly blonde ferret."

"You would have to bring up the ferret incident. You know I still have nightmares about fur?"

"But its the only time I've ever seen you so CUTE!" she exclaimed. "You were so small and innocent and unable to insult anyone!"

"Really, Granger," he shook his head and sighed. "Now that you're obviously feeling a little better, what do you want to do? I mean about the reason I came to find you. Snape specifically instructed me not to force you to come back. And to promptly forget where you are, and not to tell anyone else. He seemed to think...you'd have your own reasoning for coming back?" Draco tilted his head, as if waiting for an explanation.

Hermione looked at his cool grey eyes and pursed her lips, wondering if the explanation would cause her more ridicule or not. She took a sip of tea and closed her eyes, leaning back on the pillows propped behind her back. She took a moment to study the embroidery on the blanket. She had done the work on the edges of the blanket when she had first moved in to her her cabin. Her heart had hurt so badly and her hands had shaken so much as she tried to manually ply the needle through the plain white coverlet. She picked up the corner nearest her, the corner she always slept under and ran her fingers over the threads she had never consciously meant to place. Draco's eyes were drawn to the place as well. Their eyes met in the afternoon light as Hermione's fingers revealed a tiny, jewel toned, coiled green snake in embroidery thread.

"Oh...oh...ummm..." Draco stuttered out as Hermione's face turned a lovely shade of pink. "Sweet baby Merlin, you have to be kidding me!"

"Draco, seriously, its not even like that," she protested as Draco fought against the urge to laugh. "With the time turner, you remember the time turner? Of course you do. I was of legal age much before Harry and Ron. Of course that's not really why. It's a very, very long story-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Draco protested, slapping his hands over his ears. "Doesn't matter to me...but seriously? I thought you and the other two hated him..."

Hermione turned bright red at this and shrugged. "There's a thin line between love and hate, Malfoy. You of all people should know that."

"But he's...he was...still is really.." Draco stuttered out.

"Draco Malfoy, are you going to sit there and try to talk me out of years of ingrained feelings or are you going to volunteer to take Mojo to the Manor and then come back for me?" Hermione grinned, finishing her tea and making up her mind.

"Yeah...of course. I mean, that's what he wanted, and if that's what you want, then of course...You're sure you want to go to the Manor? You're okay...with that?"

"I think it's about time that I start facing my fears rather than hiding from them. Besides...it's been quite long enough." she sighed, tossing the blankets off her legs and flicking her wand to start packing clothes into a bag.

Draco watched her silently, his hand going to the top of Mojo's head and rubbing an ear. "Hey, 'Mione...what kind of dog is this, anyways?"

Swiveling her head to look at the two, she raised an eyebrow at Mojo who had seemingly become quite close to the blonde. "He's an Argentinian Mastiff." she replied, shrinking her blanket and tossing it into the bag as well. "He showed up here about the same time I did, and he's never left me. Just figured it was good timing is all."

Draco removed his hand from the dogs head and crouched down to look him in his deep chocolate eyes. "Yeah...remarkable timing..." Draco muttered, eyeing the dog nervously. Mojo responded by twitching a white eyebrow and Draco nodded. "Anyways! Shall we then? I never have much liked country air and your farm smells like...chickens." he grinned.

"Yes, just a few more things. Go ahead and take Mojo, I will be ready by the time you get back." Hermione smiled gently, nodding to the dog. "You behave yourself, Mojo. I mean it. No biting Malfoy, no matter how bad you want to."

The dog seemed to sigh its acceptance and Draco grabbed a hold of the scruff at the back of his neck and Disapperated with the large white dog.

Upon Apperating to the Manor, Draco pulled his wand on the dog, not threatening but close enough to make his point. "You and I are going to have a conversation later, Dog." Draco narrowed his eyes, still not trusting the large white animal. "Go ahead to the back, I know damn well you understand me." Draco watched as the animal nodded and started towards the backyard at an easy stride. Malfoy shook his head and chuckled. "Leave it to Granger to find something like that."

Looking towards the windows on the second floor of the Manor, he saw a shadow moving the curtain. He raised a hand in greeting and watched the curtain resume its original placement. Draco cracked his neck as he prepared to return for Hermione and he relished the last moments of peace he would probably get for a while. The next few hours were not going to be fun...but at least they would be entertaining. He honestly couldn't wait for Potter and the Weasel to hear about this. Grinning to himself, he Disapperated back to the cabin and waited for the bushy haired girl to exit the front door. "Ready then, Granger?"

"Ready as I will ever be, Ferret." she responded, reaching her hand for his. He smiled kindly at her as he prepared to Disapperate again.

"You know, 'Mione, I may never understand women. Just letting you know that." he grinned and shook his head.

"Just shut up and lets go before I question my sanity, Malfoy."


	3. The Confrontation

Severus Snape stood in a window of a second story bedroom of Malfoy Manor, watching his godson speak sternly to a large white dog. Raising an eyebrow he watched the animal walk towards the back of the Manor. He wondered if Draco had been able to convince her to come along. Nerves gnawed at his insides making him feel awfully hollow. Perhaps she had refused. Maybe she had since mourned him and come to terms with his absence. There was always the possibility that he had imagined any sort of burgeoning emotion. Their relationship had never been exactly physical beyond glances and mutual respect. But then again, there was a war and there wasn't much time for such frivolities. Despite a certain werewolf that seemed to find time for...Snape shook his head. No. He refused to believe that he had imagined it. True, they had never spoken about their feelings, but Severus was sure that she shared some kind of emotion for him. It was hard to mistake the look in her eyes as she looked upon him as he lay bleeding, both of them certain that their eyes saw each other for the last time. His breath caught in his throat, his breathing ragged at the memory. He had fought so hard that night, not to bleed out onto the wooden floor beneath him, trying to remember what he was fighting for. He had clung to those eyes as he worked to heal himself, choking down two or three of the potions secreted within his robes.

He couldn't think about that now, his hands shaking as he looked back out the window. Draco waved and Disapperated again filling Snape with surging hope only for it to be drowned in doubt. Five years was a long time to be alive and not tell her. She would be furious and he was not keen on being on the receiving end of that legendary temper. Doubt washed against him again and threatened to take him away in a wave of self loathing. This was a bad idea. This was a horrible idea. He should have let her live her separate life, the one she had chosen. Alone. But as Draco appeared again with a long haired witch in tow, his options were limited. He straightened his blue sweater and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. "Now or never, Severus." he chided himself as he headed for the stairs as the two headed for the front door. The white dog had made a reappearance and was quietly walking behind Hermione and Draco, seemingly watching for a reaction from the witch. Draco must have said something amusing and for a moment her laughter rang out. Until they reached the front door and entered the Manor.

The side along Apparition was not as bad as she had anticipated, but Draco's steady hand was on her elbow until she regained her balance on the Manor lawn. She nodded slightly as she took her arm back. The Manor was just as she always remembered it, forbidding arches and peaks, darkness and terror. Her heart beat a rapid tattoo in her chest remembering the night she had spent here. Her hand involuntarily reached for her opposite forearm, knowing that if she looked, the word "MUDBLOOD" would stand out in stark relief, scarred onto her skin forever. A shiver ran over her spine despite the warm summer air.

"You alright?" Draco asked, cool grey eyes appraising her surprisingly compassionately.

"Yeah, fine. Just-"

"I know." he replied, his voice cracking slightly. "I never really told you how sorry I was...for that night."

"You saved us. All of us." she replied, trying to keep her own emotions in check. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle this. Long ago she had promised herself that she would never return to this place, yet here she was, summoned by a man she had just hours previously thought to be dead. She had mourned Severus and mourned him well, weeping that she had never told him. She scoffed at herself for a moment. Never told him what, exactly? That she had somehow, in the middle of a war, seemed to find herself feeling...what? Love? No. Not at that point anyways. Perhaps in the time since, the distance had allowed her to fool herself into believing that something could have become of her fixation.

"Yeah," Draco said hollowly, threading her arm through his and beginning the walk up the lawn to the Manor, allowing Hermione to give him cues on when to stop so she could build up her courage. A white streak seen out of the corner of his eye gave him warning that her dog was sprinting across the lawn to his mistress. Mojo slowed behind the two and made sure that his wet, black nose made contact with Hermione's free hand to let her know that he was there. "Now that is an odd thing." Draco thought to himself.

Hermione smiled at her pet and let her hand rest on his head for a moment, regaining her solidarity to make the final climb up the front steps, for the second time in her life. This time on her own terms.

"So how awkward is this going to be? I mean...do I need to give you two some...time?" Draco winked salaciously at her, trying to lighten the mood.

Hermione's laughter was true and real as she replied with a smirk, "You wish. First, I'm going to hex his face off for letting me think he was dead. That's first. Second...I really don't know what I'm going to do second, but I will warn you before it happens."

Draco opened the front door and stepped inside, allowing Hermione to step in when she was ready. She visibly took a deep breath and slid in, letting Draco shut it softly behind her, not wanting to make any noise that could startle her. She looked around the entryway, slightly shocked, all of the black was gone, the grime and the heavy tapestries. The windows were open and flowers were in vases, lightening her heart as she found beauty where she had been expecting dread. "Well done, Malfoy...I think this better." she smiled at him appreciatively.

"I couldn't stand it...the way it was. Too many-"

"Reminders, I know." she finished for him, nodding in understanding. As she turned away from him, a shadow on the main staircase caught her eye and Draco raised a hand in silent greeting. Hermione's breath hitched in her throat and nearly choked her. Severus Snape stood near the middle of the staircase, hand on the balustrade, peering at her as if he had never seen her before. He looked well, if not a little thin, scars on his neck that she knew would be there were covered with a dark blue turtle necked sweater. Gone were the billowing robes of the dungeon potions master, gone also was the haggard look in his eyes. The look of a man hunted. He looked at ease in his own skin now, not waiting for the Dark Lord to jump out from behind a curtain and Avada him into oblivion. A slight smile played on his thin lips as he looked at her, content to let her make the first move. Yet she stayed resolutely still, hand on the ear of the large white dog he had seen in the yard. Draco had backed up slightly, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire he was sure was coming.

Hermione's hands started shaking again, seeing him again having set off a chain reaction, leading her down something she always had called 'PTSD Alley'. She cleared her throat as Mojo nudged her hand, wanting her to take action to snap herself out of it. "Severus?" she asked, taking the first step forward away from Mojo. The dark haired man on the stairs nodded slightly, taking another step down. The whole entity of the Manor seemed to hold its breath for a moment. Until the inevitable happened. Hermione snapped. "SEVERUS TOBIAS SNAPE!" she bellowed, advancing on him, pulling her wand and wordlessly sending several mostly harmless spells in his direction. "How COULD you?!" she shouted, again slashing her wand as she advanced on the man who had now backed up halfway up the stairs and had taken his own wand out to protect himself.

Draco and Mojo remained by the door, eyeing the situation cautiously, each knowing Hermione's temper. Severus retreated a few more steps until Hermione came within reach. He dodged another spell and gripped her wrist, spinning her to pin her back against his chest and pulled her down to sit on the steps with him, whispering into her hair. Hermione finally stopped fighting and gave herself to tears, allowing him to hold her, her wand dropping to the stairs to join his, discarded. "I never would have, I swear it, I wasn't sure till recently that I would be able to regain myself, Hermione. I promise you, I didn't want you to see me like that, to give you any kind of...hope...if I couldn't be a whole man."

"You almost killed me, you know that." she sobbed, realizing that her fears of a misconstrued connection were for nothing. The spark between them now was more of a roaring fire in December, welcome and consuming. Severus's face was still buried in her hair, breathing her in.

She could feel his chest rising and falling with barely restrained words and emotions. She didn't know what he would say when he finally regained the ability. Draco took the moment to awkwardly shuffle off towards the den, Mojo in tow, neither wanting to be witness to whatever was happening on the stairs.

"I am sorry. I know you may not believe me right now, but I will make it right." he whispered into her shoulder, fully wrapping his arms around her.

Hermione leaned her head back against him, trying to come to terms with her emotions. "Before you start making things right, Severus, I think we had better decide what needs to be made right." She half turned, leaning against the railing of the stairs, honey colored eyes connecting with dark. "What is this." she asked simply.

Severus smiled wryly and shook his head. There were so many ways that this confrontation could have gone, some good, some extremely badly, in very few of those scenarios had he imagined they would end up in each others arms. He actually had no clue as to how it had happened, one moment she was on the offensive, the next he had her cradled to him with both of them in tears. "I believe that remains to be seen, don't you? I feel we have much to discuss, you and I."

Draco sat on the sofa in the den, looking the dog in the eyes. "Don't you think it's about time you gave it up? I'm surprised she hasn't seen through you yet. She is an extraordinarily intelligent witch." he asked as he summoned a house elf. His eyes remained locked on the animal as a house elf responded and was sent off in search of a decanter of firewhiskey. He felt that soon, all parties involved hereto would need a stiff drink.

Mojo sat himself primly on the sofa and promptly transfigured himself back into a flame haired wizard dressed in a pair of jeans and a striped jumper. George Weasley grinned at the raised eyebrow Draco was giving him. "Oi, Malfoy. How'd you know?" he asked with the trademark Weasley attitude.

"You were too close. Too human. Even after nearly five years four legged." Draco responded, reaching for the decanter from the returning house elf who never batted an eye at the new human sitting on the sofa across from his master. He poured two glasses and handed one to Weasley.

"Thanks, mate." George responded, taking the offering. "How do 'ya figure it's going out there?" he motioned with his head towards the entry way.

"Don't figure it much matters to me, or to you." Draco responded roughly, still trying to figure out George's motives in staying with Granger as long as he did.

"Don't hurt your little brain, mate. The reason was, I couldn't leave little sis alone. Not for that long, and not in the state she was in. She wouldn't have lasted long without support. So as the only animagus in the family, registered or otherwise, I was the only choice." George made direct eye contact with Malfoy for a moment. "No one else knew where she was, but it wasn't hard to track her once you knew how her mind worked. I made sure she was safe, something not many people were willing to ensure."

Draco's eyes rested on his drink, recognizing the censure for what it was. He had known she had left as well, and never tried to find her until he was directly instructed to. Changing the subject, he cleared his throat and grimaced a little. "Well...I don't hear any crashing anymore. So that can mean a couple things...they're both dead, or they're snogging each other senseless."

George grinned mischievously and drained his tumbler. "Well mate, either way, I think we just wait. I know I don't want to intrude on either of those things. Might be scarred for life."

So both men resigned themselves to wait.

Authors note:

Hello everyone! I promised another update after work and here you go! Answers to the 'Mojo' issue now given! Also, an interesting fact, my dog is named Mojo and he is an Argentinian Mastiff, an beautiful and wonderfully faithful companion to me in real life!

In response to a few questions in the reviews, I will do my best here:

Green Eyed Lana Lee: The embroidered snake was there to symbolize Hermione's attachment to another snake ;) In the story it was stated that she hadn't even meant to create that bit of embroidery, but it seemed her hands did it on their own.

To everyone who guessed Mojo was an animagus: HAHA! You have no idea how long I have deliberated on who I would have it be! I was torn between Neville and George. A friend did offer the idea of Krum though and I figured that would give this too much of a "love triangle" feel.

To everyone else, thank you all for reading, of course reviews are welcome! I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this! I wish I could boop all of you on the nose! Anyways, work again tomorrow...maybe another update before work? If not, then definitely after! _

All the love,

Sigyn


	4. Solarium

Malfoy Manor was suddenly not as forbidding and hostile as it used to be. For Draco, it had started when he had cleaned out the remnants of his family's 'pure-blood pride' trappings. Getting rid of the darkness that they had left behind had allowed him to heal and get past his own ingrained prejudices. With his mother gone these past three years and Lucius still in Azkaban, there was no one to judge Draco for his choices but him. With the opening of the first window, it seemed that Malfoy Manor breathed again, a newness and healing spreading through the corridors and now unused dungeons. The oppressiveness that had inhabited the Manor and fled as curtains opened and the breeze raised the dust bunnies to life. With the help of two remaining house elves, now paid weekly and given vacation, Draco had renovated his house and his life, making both a place that someone would wish to be.

Hermione sat in the solarium, book in her hand. Nearby, Severus's form was laid out on a chaise, seemingly asleep. As she flipped the page, she glanced in his direction. Face flooded with sunlight, he seemed so at ease, a condition she was nowhere near used to seeing him in. It had been a week since she had attacked him on the stairs, and in that week, they had spoken much yet decided nearly nothing. Both had admitted a fierce reliance and attraction, but with both being wounded, physically and mentally, they had decided that there was nothing but time. An idea that was reinforced by the easy summer playing out around them. A smile played across her lips at the thought of the events of the past week. She had found Severus again, returned to the wizarding world, found out that her 'dog' was a wizard (a loud, prank-prone, red headed wizard at that). After the altercation with Severus on the stairs, she had been surprised to walk in to Draco's den and find him sipping whiskey with George Weasley. Then it had occurred to her that her dog was nowhere in sight. Mind flying quickly, she connected the dots that she had been ignoring and promptly raised her wand. "George Weasley, you watched me shower!" she cried only to have her arms restrained from behind until she could reign in her temper.

George had replied with a smirk, "You never thought it was odd that a dog would look away?"

After the tumultuous day, she had dissolved into giggles, sinking back against the formidable wizard behind her. "If he hadn't..." Severus warned, half playfully. "But seriously, Hermione...for the brightest witch of your age, you failed to recognize the warning signs of an animagus? Not that I am not extraordinarily in Weasleys debt for watching over you."

"Don't mention it. Little 'Mione here has been like a sister to the lot of us since way back. And with...everything that's happened...I didn't have much to miss anyways. I left the shop in the care of a very capable witch. I've considered it a little vacation...well a little vacation where I'm allowed to lick myself, gnaw on bones and watch Hermione Granger chase after rabbits. It's been...needed." George replied.

Hereto silent, Draco choked in a very undignified manor on his drink, turning to grin at George. "Of course, part of the draw to watch over Hermione would be the fact that you are able to lick your own-"

"Draco!" Hermione yelped in protest.

"Seriously, Hermione, he all but just said it!" Draco drawled and downed his umteenth glass of whiskey.

The room had dissolved into laughter and lighthearted ribbing after that. To Hermione, those first few hours had rid her of the need to constantly look over her shoulder at the Manor. She felt at ease, a feeling that she hadn't been able to hold on to since the end of the war, even on her plot of land near the woods.

She straightened in her chair and put her book down, the sounds of her rustling rousing Severus from his own reverie. "They will be here soon, Severus." she warned as he reached for a pillow to place under his head.

"They are your friends, not mine, you know." he mumbled sleepily, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "You're the one that insisted that they be called."

"As a matter of fact, they are my friends. But they would delight in seeing you again as well, you know...Well maybe not delight, but they would be certainly...interested." she replied, rising to replace the book on the bookcase.

"At least you have no delusions of a warm reunion." Severus sighed, sitting up on the side of the chaise. He watched Hermione pull her hair back into a braid and smiled. Despite what was about to happen, he would face it with a grin because he could hear her own confession still ringing through his brain. Perhaps it wasn't love just yet, but they had finally verbalized their willing and readiness to try, to see where this would go. With the present company in the Manor, both he and Hermione had been given space and were not subject to insufferable questions and added emotions. It had been peaceful, the exact opposite of what he expected to face when Potter and Weasley arrived. Draco had expressed his surprise that both of them had agreed to come to the Manor, not wanting to make Hermione come to them. They were both just relieved that she had come back, even if it was under...unusual circumstances. Severus chuckled, unusual, they didn't know the half of it.

As if sensing his unease, Hermione moved to sit next to him on the chaise, twining her arm through his. "You know they will be alright with this," she smiled, having more faith in her closest friends than Snape ever would. "It makes me happy, so they will be thrilled." she grinned, moving in to kiss his cheek. With a rebellious grin, he turned his face towards her at the last moment and caught her kiss full on the lips. He could feel her smile as he wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her to him before releasing her lips for a moment.

"You know, I don't give a flying hippogriff ass if they burst into flames at the idea of us." he replied, tucking an errant piece of curly hair behind her ear. Hermione rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder with hers. "Hermione, I really couldn't...I've given up too much in my life for the happiness of others. I think it's high time I take something for myself. I'm so tired of being so duplicitous. I am too old to let something this important fall through my grasp." he said quietly, resting his hand on hers.

"You are not old, Severus. How many times do I have to tell you that? It doesn't matter to me, but I do agree with you. I'm not going to lose you again. Ever." A smile swept over her features and she sighed into his side, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

A knock sounded from the entryway to the solarium, hesitant but forceful. "Can I uncover my eyes? Are you two descent? I really don't want to have to Obliviate myself." Draco called from the doorway.

"Draco, you are my godson and a Malfoy." Severus grumbled, standing and taking Hermione's hand to bring her with him. "If a kiss between consenting adults is the worst you've seen, then it's time I take you to muggle Vegas."

"A kiss between consenting adults, yes. It wouldn't bother me at all. As it stands, I am witnessing the 'bat of the dungeons' snogging the 'Gryffindor Princess' in my sun room. Please allow me a moment to mourn the death of Granger's innocence." Draco retorted with a grin that could only be described as 'very Slytherin'.

"Oh please, Malfoy. You know damn well that I haven't been all _that_ innocent since..well...never mind." Hermione laughed, remembering Draco discovering her _in flagrante delicto_ with Victor Krum after the Yule Ball. Thankfully he had kept his mouth shut. Perhaps out of kindness, more likely because she had caught him in the same predicament with Pansy Parkinson mere weeks before that.

Severus was not amused and threw a deadly glare more at home in his potions class than in a sunny summer room. "Witty, boy." he said more gruffly than necessary.

"I came to tell you that Potter and Weasley's are here." Draco raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "Plural Weasley's, Granger. As in multiple. There is a mob of red in my den currently, and I believe some of them have found the good scotch."

Hermione rolled her eyes, she should have damn well known that Harry couldn't keep his mouth shut for more than thirty seconds anyways. She was honestly surprised that the entirety of the wizarding world was not trying to knock down the front door of the Manor. "Well then, off to face the horde then?" she asked, straightening her grey t-shirt and smoothing her hair unnecessarily. Severus grabbed her hand, twining his fingers through hers.

"Yes. But not alone." he replied with a reassuring squeeze of his hand.

"No. Never alone again."

Grinning, Hermione lead the way from the solarium to the den, taking comfort in Severus's solid presence near her. Her hands didn't feel shaky at all, her entire body seemed more sure, more able to function normally. She wasn't sure if it was the time she had spent away from everything, or the wizard who held her hand. The man who whispered "I love you, Hermione Granger," just before she walked through the door to the den. Her spectacular smile was something she couldn't hide and it was the first thing that drew the attention of everyone in the room. Molly, Arthur, Ron, Ginny and Harry were in turns delighted, excited, confused, and finally stupefied as they realized that it wasn't a shadow behind Hermione. Behind her, wearing a dark grey sweater and an almost identical grin to hers stood a man who they had all believed dead.

The silence in the room was absolutely deafening.

Authors note:

YAY! I made it through another day of work! Gigantic holler to my girl Annette for helping with that! Everyone give this girl a shout in your reviews! She's been helping me bat around ideas during our shift and helping me get these updates to you quicker! Anyways!

Eerikaaa: Glad to have you! Super glad you like it so far! I've been out of practice for quite a while and I wanted to get back to it, so heres the results of my plot bunnies.

So tomorrow is a day off...which means? Probably another update...if I don't...well Annette does know my address...thats scary. Love you all so much for reading, you make me so, so happy!


	5. Ginger Snaps

The silence in the room grew louder, threatening to overwhelm Hermione. Tears pricked at her eyes at the sight of Harry and the Weasleys, but the looks of shock on their faces detracted from the sentiment. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, but she took another step into the room. Molly looked like she had swallowed a bug, Arthur seemed in danger of crushing his glass of Malfoy's good scotch and Ginny had turned an even paler shade of white. "Hello everyone..." Hermione started out, raising a hand in a half hearted attempt to greet them. "It's been a while..."

"Professor..." Harry stuttered out, standing from the couch along with Molly and Arthur. "I didn't realize..."

"Of course not, the last time you saw me, I was bleeding all over myself and nearly dead. I wouldn't expect you to realize." Snape nodded, adjusting the hem of his sweater.

"Blimey...never thought we would see you again." Ron stated, still staring, unused to seeing him outside of his billowing robes and darkened rooms.

"Harry told us you were protecting him the whole time...Which means you were also protecting our children, and Hermione...I guess we owe you our thanks." Arthur walked across the room, setting his glass on the coffee table and moving to shake Severus's hand.

Snape took the hand and shook it firmly. "I couldn't let all that be known though, as you can surmise. I did what I had to for all of us to survive this, and I nearly failed on my own account. But no matter, I am here now. And Hermione as well. And all of you."

Ginny still hadn't moved from her spot in a dark blue armchair near the fireplace. Her face was stuck to Hermione's, who was staring back at her as well. Severus moved closer to Hermione who had Draco on the other side of her. "You've both come back then?" Ginny said quietly, standing to grip Harry's hand.

"Yeah, Gin...I'm back. I'm not leaving again." she replied, wondering if Ginny was about to curse her, hit her or hug her. "Can you forgive me for leaving? It was just something I had to do."

"Something you had to do?" Ginny groaned, rolling her eyes. "Something you HAD to do. You didn't HAVE to run. You didn't have to leave all of us! It was selfish and stupid! You don't think we all have nightmares? You don't think that I wake at night and find myself screaming in a panic, thinking that the Death Eaters are coming for me? When any one of us close our eyes, we see the battlefield, see our friends dead or dying. You left the very same people who stood by you, the people that could have helped you! Instead, you ran off into the woods to help yourself, not giving a damn about those you left behind, hurting just like you!" she shouted, letting go of Harry's hand and coming to stand before Hermione.

Severus's hand went to her lower back in solidarity, supporting her from her friends onslaught. "Ginny, I-" Hermione started, her hands in the air. Molly eyed the girls but made no move to intervene.

"No! I don't want to hear it! You were my best friend, Hermione! After Hogwarts, friends are all we had to keep us together! When you left, Ron and Harry were devastated, not to mention what you did to Mum and Dad. You were another kid to them! After you left we-" Ginny choked out, tears beginning to fall. She turned her gaze to Severus and glared at him as well. "And YOU! Harry told us all about the memories! You were the one to protect him his whole time in school, the closest thing he had to a parent after Sirius died. You didn't think, not even once, that he would need you? When everyone he had known was dead? Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Tonks, Dobby, Fred, everyone!" she ranted, resisting Harry as he tried to pull her to him to comfort her. "Selfish, both of you!"

Severus and Hermione both stood motionless before her wrath. Hermione looked around the room for any kind of support and realized the depths of her betrayal. Ginny was right, she had run away from everyone and everything, and at the time she had thought it was the right thing to do. She hadn't realized, in her grief and pain that everyone else was dealing with the same trauma, but in different ways. Tears rolled down her face as she looked into the eyes of those she loved and understood the way she had hurt them.

Snape was at a loss for words, for the first time in a long while, his wit and cynicism had failed him. The small red haired girl had cut right to the heart of the matter and as he looked at Harry, for the first time in the boy's life, he did not see Lily or James. He saw the boy he had been merciless with, the boy who had reminded him of his worst nemesis and his childhood love. He had tried to crush the light out of the boy, not wanting him to take his father's path. He had made the boy hate him. And now he stood as a man before him, neither James nor Lily, but his own man, a man who had been through so much and a lot of it because of Snape himself. But in Harry's eyes, he did not see hate like he saw reflected in the Weasley boy's. No, he saw understanding and forgiveness, two things he did not ever deserve, not from Harry.

"Profess- umm...Severus then?" Harry queried, settling himself in front of Ginny. Snape nodded for him to continue. "You both know Ginny is emotional...But I won't apologize for what she said. She's right. Hermione, Ron and I needed you. I am so glad to see you home, but it hurts at the same time. We had no idea when you would come back and each day I had hoped that it would be that day." Harry smiled and shook his head. "But I understand why. And I forgive you." Harry's eyes turned to Snape then, appraising his hand on Hermione's back, his proximity to the woman, and he grinned. "Severus, you and I both know what is between us, but it's all in the past. I've made mistakes as well as you have, we have put our trust in the wrong people at times, but we are the ones still standing here, alive. I'd say both of us have paid in spades for our transgressions."

The room held it's collective breath for a moment as everyone let what Harry had said sink in. Harry came forward to embrace Hermione who started with fresh tears. "Oh Harry, I am so sorry!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Come on 'Mione, it's over now. We can all work forwards from here." he consoled her, smoothing her hair down. Ron and Ginny sat sullenly on the couch, not ready to forgive yet. Molly, however, rushed forward and engulfed both Hermione and Harry in a hug only Molly could give.

"Oh my other girl is home!" she cried, holding both of them. "I thought you had died out there, you obviously haven't been eating, Hermione, you don't look like you weigh more than a feather!" Molly started fussing over her and Harry slid away to allow Molly some space.

The room seemed to breathe again as Molly fussed and mothered. Draco had made his way over to the coffee table to pick up a glass and fill it with liquor, mumbling something about "A bunch of overly emotional ruddy Gryffindors." Ron had left Ginny fuming on the sofa and came closer to Hermione, poking at her arm gently.

"Hey..." he mumbled, torn between welcoming her back and nursing his own broken heart. He had told her he loved her about a week before she ran off, and he couldn't help but think that it had something to do with that. "I didn't mean to scare you off, 'Mione."

"Oh Ron, you didn't. It wasn't that. I swear it, Ron. I just...couldn't anymore." she finished lamely but Ron nodded and grinned a little.

"Glad you're back anyways. Wasn't right when you were gone, it just being me and Harry. Just didn't feel right, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Ron." she confirmed, looking away for a moment for Severus but finding him in deep conversation with Harry who was motioning him out into the entryway. She raised an eyebrow at the situation, but was pulled back into conversation with the Weasleys.

Harry approached his ex-potions professor after seeing that Hermione was otherwise engaged with the Weasleys. "Severus, could I have a moment?" he asked, nodding to the entryway. Snape nodded and followed the slightly shorter man into the marble and hardwood room. "I am very glad you're back, and I mean that." Harry started, scrubbing his face with his hands and sighing.

"I have a feeling you're not about to ask me just how it was that I survived." Severus drawled, shifting his weight slightly.

"No. I'm not. We can discuss that at a later date, I am sure. What I want to know is-"

"I saw her eyes. When I was dying. It's the only thing that saved me, I think. She had tears in her eyes when she saw me. I don't think I understood it until then, really, that there was a connection there. I had tried to deny it since...I don't know when really. Harry, she saved me. I don't expect you to understand. I don't even expect you to condone it, because I really can't rationalize it myself. How did it get so far without me noticing it? When did we go from student and teacher to...this? I couldn't even tell you." Severus cut him off, not wanting to draw out the inevitable. He waited for Harry to go on some Gryffindorian prattle about decency and trust, but it never came. Instead, the other man started to laugh, low at first and then louder.

"You don't think I knew? She was my best friend, Severus. There were nights, the year before we left, she would have detention with you and come back smiling, or ranting about you being an evil prat. There nothing I can fault either of you for, without faulting myself. You challenged each other, and pushed each other further. I will say that I respect the hell out of you for your restraint during school." Harry smiled and gripped Severus's arm. "When she thought you were dead, she mourned you. I couldn't explain to you what was going through her head, but I knew it was killing her. When she left, there was a hollowness in her soul, and now it's not there. She missed you. I wouldn't be surprised if she loved you."

Severus stood stunned for a moment as Harry held on to his forearm. She had mourned him, missed him. She had experienced the same hollowness that he had when they were apart. To her age didn't mean anything, as she had professed so many times to him. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to respond, but only a broken sound came out at first. He tried to steel himself to admit it in front of another man. "I love her...I love her Harry. In a way that I have never loved anyone else." he said in a whisper.

Harry's eyes went wide as he registered what Severus was saying. More than anyone else, he had said. More than Lily, what he had meant. Harry nodded for a moment and looked the man in the eyes. "That's what I needed to know." Harry smiled to break the tension and let go of the other mans arm. "Should I go on about 'Mione being my sister and if you hurt her, blah, blah, blah? Shouldn't think it would be necessary, but if you want to hear it, I am more than willing."

"I don't think that will be needed. I could no more hurt her than cut off my own arm." Severus replied with a twitch to his lips. "I am quite fond of both of my arms, you know."

Harry nodded and motioned back towards the den where a mass of Weasleys were wondering where Harry had gone, and one lone blonde was waiting for five minutes quiet after being bombarded by loud, emotional Gryffindors.

Authors note: So sorry I didn't update sooner! I was caught up in fence building and cleaning up a little. Anyways! Let me know what you think, I believe I stayed pretty true to Ginny in this one. A big thank you to all of you that have reviewed, especially a certain someone's mom! Every review means the world to me! So keep it up, I will keep it coming, and lets see where this all goes!

All of the love in the world,

Sigyn


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